Labyrinth of the Heart
by funvince
Summary: The heart wants what the heart wants. As the Straw Hats get closer to the New World, Nami begins to think more deeply about who she wants. Nami x Luffy.
1. Scars

Time Period: after the Thriller Bark arc and before the Straw Hat crew entered the Red Line.

**LABYRINTH OF THE HEART**

_A Luffy / Nami fanfiction_

By funvince

**Chapter 1 - Scars**

"Thunderbolt Tempo!"

Nami smirked in satisfaction at the sound of Marine bodies falling to the deck of the Thousand Sunny.

"Oi, Nami!" Usopp shouted from behind a barrel. "Give us a little warning next time!"

Nami playfully stuck her tongue out at the fuming sniper. One of the disadvantages of an attack that shocked everyone within range was that it shocked _everyone _within range, friend or foe. Not that she ever let a little thing like friendly fire get in the way of saving her hide.

She scanned the area around her to check if any of her crewmates needed any help. Stupid Marines attacking their ship. It had been such a nice day too.

Their first reaction upon seeing the flag of their enemies was to run like hell as usual, but they had ended up running into a fleet of battleships and getting boxed in. This was one of the few times the Marines had ever gotten close enough to board the ship and engage in hand to hand combat. It was not an experience that Nami would have minded missing out on.

"Franky, a Coup de Burst would be nice right about now!" Nami shouted as she twirled her Perfect Clima-Tact staff to fend off a swordswoman who had appeared out of nowhere.

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Franky cried as he tried to fight his way to the controls to activate their escape mechanism. The walking skeleton, Brook, was by his side with his sword humming as it cut through the air.

"I'm not in any particular hurry," Zoro said with obvious relish in his voice as he blew away a swarm of attackers with a swing of his swords.

"Have some concern for the rest of us!" Nami snapped as she used a Thunder Ball to put the woman who was trying to stab her out of commission.

Sanji was a whirling blur of motion as he protected Robin from harm while she used her powers to wrench the Marines around her into submission. Usopp and Chopper had a similar arrangement in which Chopper used his bulky form to give Usopp the free space he needed to use his Kabuto to stem the tide of Marines flowing onto the ship.

As for Luffy, the idiot was happily pummeling his enemies and laughing his head off as bullets bounced off his rubber body. Nami couldn't help but smile a little at the sight. If their captain wasn't taking the fight very seriously then that meant that there was nothing to fear-

"Luffy! Watch out!"

Luffy turned his head at her cry and he spotted the sword that was about to lop off his head. He gave a cry of disbelief as he tried to dodge, but it was obvious that he wouldn't make it out of the way in time.

His nakama dived for him knowing that a rubber neck was no defense against a sharp blade.

Nami got there first.

She screamed as the metal edge sliced into her right arm knocking her and Luffy to the deck.

"Nami!"

Her arm felt like it was on fire. She dimly felt Luffy get out from underneath her. She heard Sanji shouting in rage and the sound of rapid-fire kicks hitting a body. She heard an enraged "Gomu Gomu Gatling Gun!" Then she felt the rumbling that came from the ship launching into the air as Franky had apparently reached the controls at last. After that, there was silence.

Nami opened her eyes as she regained consciousness. Chopper gave a surprised squeak as she sat up. She took a look at the fresh bandages around her arm and gave the doctor a look of gratitude. Looking around, she could see that some time has passed since she had passed out but not that much time as she had still been lying on the deck. Franky and Usopp was making repairs, Zoro was polishing his swords, and Sanji was yelling at Luffy.

"How could you let Nami get hurt, you shitty captain!" Sanji cried. He was trying to kick Luffy but because Brook was holding him back his feet simply swung futilely into the air.

Luffy just stared blankly back at Sanji while Robin checked the captain over for wounds.

"Sanji, it's okay! I'm fine," Nami said, walking over to Sanji and putting a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

Sanji's angry demeanor switched in an instant. "Nami-swan! I'm so happy you're not badly hurt!" Taking advantage of Brook's loosened grip, he made a grab for the orange-haired navigator.

Nami smoothly stepped aside.

Stepping over the cook's face-planted body, she went over to Luffy. She asked softly, "Are you hurt?"

Luffy had a surprised look on his face, but before he could reply Brook interjected, "I believe that is the question that we should be asking you. Yohohoho!"

Nami gave him a dismissive wave. "Heh, this is nothing. Just another scar for the collection."

"What do you mean?" Brook asked curiously.

Nami was about to give another flippant response when she noticed the look of awe on Brook's face. How she realized this when the skeleton didn't have any eyeballs or facial muscles she didn't know, but Nami felt a sudden urge to brag.

"Hey, I don't enjoy putting my life in danger like some idiots here," Nami said, jerking her thumb toward Zoro and Sanji who had somehow gotten into a scuffle when she wasn't looking. "But I'm no delicate flower."

She lifted her foot for Brook's inspection. "Some crazy woman put a spike through my leg back in Alabasta (1). Another one, a CP9 agent, jabbed a hole right under my collar bone at Enies Lobby (2) with her _index finger_! Those hurt like hell!"

"I read about your rescue of Robin from the World Government in the ship's log. What marvelous adventures! Yohohoho!"

"Yeah, marvelous," Nami deadpanned. "Hmm, let's see. The scar under my tattoo's rather nasty looking... that was kinda my fault (3). Oh! And here's a puncture wound through my hand that I got when I pretended to kill Usopp that one time (4). It's a long story."

Usopp looked away uncomfortably at this, and Nami quickly pressed on. "I have a couple more from my thieving days but nothing major. Am I forgetting any?"

"You forgot one," Luffy said in an uncharacteristically serious tone. He had been standing silently at her side with his hat pushed down over his forehead so that she couldn't see his eyes. Now he grabbed her wrist and turned it so her palm was facing up, revealing a faded burn mark.

"You got this saving me from Buggy."

Nami stared at her palm. This was the mark she had received when she had met Luffy for the first time (5). She had agreed to a temporary alliance with the boy just to stop his constant pleading for her to be his navigator. She had then stabbed him in the back by tricking him into getting captured by Buggy the Clown so that she could ingratiate herself with the red-nosed captain and steal his loot. Nami had stood by and watched as Luffy was tied up, thrown in a cage, and set up in front of a cannon to be blown to bits.

That part had prickled at her conscience, but she reminded herself that all pirates were scum and deserved what they got. The smart thing to have done was to let the fool be killed. She didn't owe him anything, she hated pirates, and it was his own damn fault for trusting a complete stranger like her. There was no reason for her to rescue his sorry ass.

Her shoulders had tensed waiting for him to yell at her either to demand that she save him or to get Buggy to take her down as well. Yet he had simply stared at her, and his eyes held no grudge.

Before she knew it, she had extinguished the burning wick to the cannon with her bare hands. His first mate then arrived and the three of them fought their way out of town. That was the day that she found herself under the command of the pirate Monkey D. Luffy.

"Thanks for saving my life again, Nami," Luffy said, smiling at her. Nami couldn't help but respond with a goofy grin of her own. The two stood there smiling at each other until Zoro loudly cleared his throat, and Nami realized that Luffy was still holding her hand. She immediately snatched it away and hoped that her face was not as red as she thought it was.

Franky slung an arm around Nami's shoulders and, with tears running down his face, said, "I never knew the pain you've been through, nee-chan! The love you have for your nakama is so beautiful!"

"Ew! You're getting snot on me with your crying!"

"Shut up! I'm not crying!"

"Yeah, Nami is pretty brave," Usopp said with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "But it's hard for me to remember that when she's always leaving me to die at the hands of a monster or madman!"

"Like you're one to talk!" Nami retorted, shaking her fist at him.

As it was clear that Nami would be just fine, the crew began going their separate ways to their various tasks until only Zoro and Nami were left. Nami could feel the swordsman's penetrating gaze. She wanted to get away from it, but her stubborn nature wouldn't allow her to back off.

"You got something to say?" Nami challenged.

Zoro crossed his arms and gave Nami a long, thoughtful look. Finally, he asked, "Are you ever going to tell him?"

Nami narrowed her eyes and said evenly, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Whatever you say."

With a snort and a shake of his head, Zoro wandered away in the direction of his training room. Nami gritted her teeth as she watched the man walk away so nonchalantly. This wasn't the first or even the second time that Zoro had implied or even outright asked if she had any feelings for their captain. She didn't take him for the type who cared about such things so she could only conclude that he asked simply because he knew it bothered her.

Perhaps what annoyed her most of all was that of everyone on the ship it was the boneheaded walking mountain of muscle who _noticed. _But he had known her and Luffy the longest so maybe it wasn't that surprising. That didn't mean that he had to keep rubbing his knowledge in her face! Ever since they left Cocoyashi Village, Zoro would occasionally give her an irritating, knowing smirk.

So she had a crush on Luffy. So what? She wasn't planning on doing anything about it. There were so many reasons that a relationship with Luffy wouldn't work that it wasn't even funny. Besides, what she was feeling wasn't _love_. It was just a simple case of hero worship. It would have been more surprising if she hadn't felt anything toward the savior who released her from her miserable, hellish existence as Arlong's slave.

Crushes fade. That was what they did. The one she had now was taking its sweet time about it, but the feeling would go away at some point. Even though it hadn't as of yet.

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) Nami fought Miss Doublefinger in the Alabasta arc in episodes 117-18.

(2) Nami fought Kalifa in the Enies Lobby arc in episodes 293, 295, and 296.

(3) Near the end of the Arlong arc in episode 37, Nami began, out of grief and rage, stabbing the arm that bore Arlong's mark until Luffy stopped her.

(4) Usopp was 'killed' by Nami in episode 33 and he came back in the next episode to reveal Nami's deception to Luffy and the others.

(5) One can argue whether this was Luffy and Nami's first meeting but episode 4 was the first time he talked to her. Episode 5 was when Nami realized that she couldn't leave Luffy to die.


	2. Maps

**Chapter 2 - Maps**

Nami was the master, or mistress as it were, of the Thousand Sunny.

Yes, technically, Luffy was the captain and Zoro his first mate. And Franky knew more about the ship and what all the buttons and levers did than she ever would. Nevertheless, when the ship was in sail and nobody was attacking them she was the one in charge. And not just in matters of navigating.

Somehow, along the way in their journey, Nami had also ended up becoming the unofficial quartermaster. She was in charge of maintaining order, distributing rations and supplies, delegating work, and guarding and dividing plunder. The last one was obviously her favorite part of the job.

When discipline or punishment was necessary (i.e., when her crewmates were acting like testosterone-filled, brain-addled morons, or in other words, nearly all the time), she was the one to dish it out. Most of the time she relished her status as de facto co-captain whose baleful glare could turn men's legs to jelly (okay, mostly the legs of Usopp and Chopper but it still felt nice), but it was a tiring and stressful job. Always having to say no to a cockamamie idea or resisting the urge to strangle her captain because he just ordered her to sail to an impossible destination would take its toll on anybody.

This was perhaps why Nami was currently resting in bed with a raging fever. Well, that was what she maintained. Chopper had told her that her fever was the result of getting cut with a dirty sword and getting an infection, but she rather liked the morbid idea of her nakama being the cause of her death. Robin would probably approve. Her sense of humor was rather twisted as well.

Her fever was nothing serious, certainly not in comparison to the last time she was bed-ridden (1). Her body was stronger than it used to be and the crew now had a doctor who would make sure she didn't take a turn for the worse. She would have enjoyed just sleeping the day away, but Luffy had insisted on staying by her side to 'cheer' her up.

"Nami! Look! Look! Isn't this funny?"

The shapes that Luffy could twist his rubber face into were more disturbing than funny, but Nami couldn't help but watch in horrified fascination. She knew that Luffy was capable of feeling pain, but he didn't seem bothered in the least by pulling a piece of his cheek out like a piece of taffy.

Nami watched Luffy frown at her lack of responsiveness. Then he lighted up as he obviously just had an idea. He raised his hands and wriggled his fingers, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Tickle attac- urk!"

A hand suddenly grabbed Luffy by the hair and slammed him into the ground.

"Touch me with one finger and you'll be pulling back a stump," Nami warned. She tried to sound menacing, but she couldn't completely suppress her laughter at the sight of Luffy staring up at her with a dazed expression.

Luffy gave her a huge grin and yelled, "Ah! It smiles!"

"Who are you calling an _it_?" Nami cried as she started swatting him with her pillow. But she couldn't keep it up for long and she fell back gasping as her body reminded her of her illness.

"Chopper! Nami's dying!"

"I'm not dying, you idiot! I'm just a little worn out."

"Oh." Luffy stopped his running around in circles in a panic, and he sat back down in his chair. There was a period of silence, which Nami knew wouldn't last as Luffy had the patience and self-control of a child on his birthday who had just inhaled his cake and a dozen cupcakes.

"Wanna play a game?"

Nami stared at him with bleary eyes. What she really wanted to do was sleep, but upon seeing the boy's eagerness, she simply replied, "Whatever. I don't care."

Luffy clapped his hands in glee. "I know, let's play _I Spy_!" He then made a show of looking around the room before announcing, "I spy with my little eye something that is orange!"

Nami sighed. "Is it my hair?"

Luffy's jaw dropped. "How did you know?"

Nami looked at Luffy's guileless face. She sometimes wished that she knew for certain whether Luffy was just messing with her or if he truly was that much of an idiot.

"Your turn!"

Nami droned, "I spy with my little eye something that starts with a M."

Luffy jumped to his feet and started hopping up and down. "Is it a mouse? A maze? A mountain? MEAT?"

Nami rolled her eyes and groaned. She said, "No, moron. It's the _map_ I'm drawing on my desk over there."

"You mean this map?"

To her horror, Luffy stretched his arm to the other side of the room and snagged the parchment off her workspace. She was about to scold him for touching her stuff without permission but paused when she saw the solemn expression on his face.

"Do you like drawing maps, Nami?" Luffy asked with a strange tone in his voice.

"Of course I do!" Nami replied, in disbelief that he would ask such a ridiculous question.

"You didn't use to."

The image of Luffy smashing Arlong's headquarters to rubble flashed through Nami's mind (2). The charts she had created so diligently over the years had been destroyed along with the cell of a room that she had spent her childhood in. So why hadn't she been angry? Why had she actually felt overjoyed at the destruction of her life's work?

That tiny room had been a prison, but it had also been a refuge from the monsters she worked for. Without anyone around to see, she could cry to her heart's content. She spent hours crying while she drew, constantly having to wipe her face to avoid getting tear stains on the parchment. There were endless days that she would go without sleep or food, drawing until her hands bled because Arlong had an attack planned in a certain region of East Blue and he just happened to forget to inform her until the night before. But she welcomed the labor and the pain because it meant another minute of not having to see that bastard Arlong or thinking about Bellemere.

Things had gradually gotten better over the years as Arlong loosened his leash on her. The turmoil and desperation of her childhood had faded and she came to have a quiet pride and confidence in her mapmaking abilities. It had always been her dream to map the world, and even if this wasn't quite the way she expected her life to go she still felt a thrill whenever she completed a project. Yet underneath that thrill she felt self-loathing and a sense of wrongness.

The maps she drew were to be used for violence and destruction. Every stroke of her pen represented the links in the chains that bound her to the fishman. This was not the dream she had told her mother about. All of her navigational accomplishments were marred by that simple fact. She hated the nightmare her dream had become, and so as much as she loved the maps of islands and sea currents that littered her room she hated their very existence. And that was the worst pain of all.

"You're right, Luffy," Nami said quietly. "I hated drawing those maps. Because they weren't my maps. They were _his._"

Nami clenched her fists, trying not to cry. She had shed enough tears for that damn pirate. She said, "I always felt like I was suffocating in that room. I could see my dream dying a little bit every day. That bastard had poisoned it and turned it into something ugly. If you hadn't come along it might have disappeared entirely one day."

A sudden wave of terror rolled over her. What if she had never met Luffy? What happened to people who lose their dreams? What would she have become?

"But you're happy drawing them now, right?"

Those words and the comforting hand on her shoulder jolted her out of her dark thoughts. She glanced over at Luffy and saw that he wasn't even looking at her but was peering down at her work with a look of pride on his face.

She remembered the moment her dream came back to life. It was the same moment she discovered her freedom.

_"Nami! You are my nakama!"_

Nami finally found her voice and replied, "Yeah, I'm happy. I really am."

"I'm glad."

Luffy patted her shoulder before standing up and carefully setting the map down on the chair. He said, "Get better soon, Nami. I need my navigator."

Nami felt a warm glow in the pit of her stomach as she watched him leave. She told herself it was the fever. But it was a long time before she could fall asleep.

* * *

Footnotes

(1) Drum Island Arc. Episodes 78-91.

(2) Episode 43.


	3. Baths

Note: Takes place around episode 382 when the Straw Hats visit Spa Island but before they run into the Foxy Pirates.  
**  
Chapter 3 - Baths**

A surprising thing about the Straw Hat pirates was that they didn't smell as badly as most pirate crews. Nami and Robin naturally wanted to stay clean, but they weren't the only ones.

Sanji kept himself immaculate not just to woo women but to prevent himself from contaminating the food he cooked. Chopper was proud of his shiny fur and as a doctor he understood the importance of good hygiene. Brook and Franky needed to keep their ridiculous hairstyles maintained and would sometimes spend hours in the bathroom.

Zoro and Usopp, however, didn't care as much about regularly bathing and Nami had to constantly remind them (i.e. beat them) into washing off their sweat and grime. The ironic thing was that they were completely obsessed with keeping their weapons clean.

And Luffy? Surprisingly, he loved taking baths. Maybe it was to compensate from being unable to swim or his fascination with Mystery technologies like shower heads. Or maybe it was just because he loved bubbles and splashing.

So when the Thousand Sunny docked at Spa Island for a well-deserved break, Luffy didn't make a run for the water slides like Usopp and Chopper or go lie by the pool for some sunbathing like Franky. Instead, clad in his swimming trunks, he had grabbed his rubber deck and toy battleship and made a beeline for the bathhouse.

Nami and Robin causally strolled after the captain. Sanji looked like he wanted to follow them, but a jeering gibe from Zoro distracted him, and somehow, both of them ended up madly racing each other across one of the many olympic-sized swimming pools on the manmade 'island.' It was unknown to where Brook had disappeared, but knowing the perverted skeleton, there were undoubtedly plenty of scantily-clad women wherever he was.

Several minutes later, Nami found herself sighing in contentment as Robin scrubbed her back in the washing room.

"I'm surprised that you were willing to pay the entrance fees to let us stay here for a few days," Robin said.

Nami turned her head and saw that Robin was scrubbing her own back with two of her Devil-fruit generated arms. The orange-haired navigator just blinked at the odd sight then smiled. "I thought that it would be nice to have some fun once in a while instead of always fighting for our lives. It's true that I like money, but I also like what money can get you! Besides, I don't think either of us ever really had a chance to enjoy the finer things in life."

Robin was silent for a moment then she said softly, "I really do appreciate everything you've done, Nami. You and the rest of the crew."

It still felt a little strange for Nami to hear the older woman refer to her by name rather than title, but it was a good feeling. Robin had been less reserved ever since their battle at Enies Lobby, and it was clear that she had finally allowed herself to fully become one of their nakama.

Once Nami had washed the soap bubbles off her body, she stood up and stretched before heading toward the door to the hot-water communal baths.

"You don't want your towel?" Robin asked as she wrapped a yellow towel around herself.

"Why? I've got nothing to hide!" Nami replied, putting a hand on her hip and jutting it out. She looked over at Robin with a teasing smile.

Robin said something else, but Nami didn't hear her as she had already walked through the door. When she saw two old men turn away from her blushing, Nami belatedly realized that she was in a mixed-gender bath house. That must have been what Robin had been trying to tell her.

Nami shrugged her shoulders as she headed for the less crowded end of the bath. She wasn't ashamed of her body, and she wasn't particularly bothered by the leers directed her way (1). She made a mental note to charge the men a hundred thousand berri before she left.

Then she heard a familiar voice.

"Ahhh! It's the happiness punch!" Luffy yelled before his eyes rolled up into his head and he fell backwards beneath the surface of the water. Gurgling sounds soon followed.

Nami giggled as she settled into the warm water and watched Luffy come up gasping for air. She expected him to come over to her side to talk to her, but he appeared to have gotten fascinated with having his rubber duck attack his battleship and he wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Hmm, I think our captain is a bit smitten with you," Robin commented as she sat down next to Nami.

Nami laughed even though she felt a slight pang in her chest. She then said, "Luffy? I don't think he even knows what love is."

"Do you really think that? Maybe he doesn't know romantic love, but I think he is the most loving person I have ever met."

Nami had to agree with that. Thinking back to Luffy's fights with villains like Lucci, Crocodile, Arlong, and Enel, one could not deny the depth of Luffy's feelings for his nakama. His compassion and the strength of his convictions were two of the traits that had attracted her to him.

Suddenly realizing that her thoughts were drifting into dangerous territory, Nami splashed some water on her face. She had to stop thinking this way! Monkey D. Luffy was an immature idiot. He constantly drove her crazy and he would probably be the death of her with his insane whims. Even if she wanted a relationship with him (which she did not!), it probably wouldn't last and things would just be awkward. Sanji would have to be dealt with and the rest of the crew would think she was crazy. This was assuming that Luffy even thought of her in a romantic sense, which he most likely didn't. There were so many reasons why she and Luffy being together simply wouldn't work.

So many reasons...

"Nami, are you feeling all right?"

Nami quickly wiped her eyes and gave Robin a weak grin. "I'm fine. Just got some chlorine in my eyes."

Robin gave her a measured glance she said, "Speaking of love, what do you plan on doing after our adventures are over? When our captain has found the One Piece and we have traveled the world? Will you go back to your home and settle down with some nice, young man?"

"I haven't really thought about that," Nami replied honestly. She didn't want to think about life without her infuriating yet wonderful comrades. She then asked, "Why do you ask?"

Robin looked down into the water. She replied, "I've never thought about my future at all beyond finding the Rio Polyglyph. And I had always known that even if I did find it that my death would not be too far behind. But there are now so many possibilities open to me that I'm a little overwhelmed."

"I know how you feel," Nami said. "For most of my life, I was just concerned about surviving to the next day. And then... the world suddenly opened up for me. I was free to do whatever I wanted."

"It seems we both owe Luffy a great deal then."

"We do," Nami agreed. She remembered handing Luffy back the hat he had entrusted her with and high-fiving him as if he hadn't just dug his way out of a demolished building (2). She knew from the instant he took his precious hat from her hands and smiled at her that she was going to help him achieve his dream. She could do nothing less for the man who had saved her from a life of misery.

Her shoulders stiffened as an uncomfortable realization hit her. With her mouth suddenly feeling dry, she sneaked a glance at Robin. The older woman had just recently been rescued from the hands of the World Government (3). What had happened at Enies Lobby was like something out of a fairy tale! It was difficult to think of anything more _romantic _than a man declaring war on the entire world just to get someone he valued back.

Nami told herself that she was being silly, and she struggled to let the thought go but she couldn't. The idea that another woman had feelings for Luffy would gnaw away at her if she didn't do something about it. Finally, with no attempt at subtlety, she blurted, "Robin, are you in love with Luffy?"

Robin burst out laughing.

Nami crossed her arms, her cheeks burning, and she grumbled, "I don't see what's so funny."

Robin gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder. She said, "I apologize. You just looked so worried."

"I'm not worried. Just curious," Nami insisted, knowing her denials were not convincing in the least. She was already regretting having asked the question.

"In response to your question, am I in love _with _our dear captain? No. But I do love him. He gave me a home and makes me feel safe. I guess I see him as a father figure."

Nami did a double-take. "What?"

Robin gently smiled at her. "I suppose it sounds a bit odd, but Luffy reminds me of a friend I had when I was a child. He was very similar to the captain, always laughing and trying to do the right thing. He was a giant and many of my people feared him, but I didn't (4). He was the closest thing to a father that I had. Perhaps that resemblance is why I couldn't allow Crocodile to kill Luffy (5)."

"Robin..."

Nami reached out and pulled Robin into a hug. A few moments later, Robin pulled back and raised an inquiring eyebrow. She said, "You seem awfully relieved that I am not infatuated with our captain."

"Um... I'm relieved for you! I would have felt badly for you if you had fallen for that idiot," Nami said quickly.

"Yes, any woman who is in love with Luffy surely has something wrong with her," Robin agreed.

"Hey!" Nami cried before her brain could kick in to stop her. Upon realizing her slip, she stammered, "Uh... I didn't mean..."

In the face of Robin's knowing smile, Nami could only hang her head in defeat. It was not for nothing that Nico Robin had been able to become Crocodile's right hand woman. She muttered, "So much for my ability to keep a secret."

Robin raised her eyebrows in apparent surprise. She replied, "Do you think that because I never said anything that I had never noticed? There are many things I observe from my chair on the deck, Nami. I've known for a long time. But I did not think it was my place to pry."

Nami still felt a little embarrassed, but she also felt relieved at unburdening a load on her mind and from the understanding her friend was giving her. Then Robin had to destroy her peace of mind by asking the Question.

"Are you going to tell him?"

"Not you too," Nami groaned. "Look, I just have a stupid crush. It's the whole 'prince on a white horse' thing. Luffy and I are complete opposites. I'm not going to let some stupid hormones overrule my reason."

"What are hormones?"

Nami sighed. "Luffy, it's not polite to- to- LUFFY!"

The boy stared at her with his characteristic happy grin. "What?"

Her heart felt like it was going to leap out of her chest. "How- how much did you hear?"

Luffy stuck a finger in his ear as if to dislodge some water. He replied, "Something about horses with hormones. Did I miss a joke?"

Nami studied Luffy's face. For as long as she had known him, she had not once seen him tell a convincing lie. The boy was as readable as a book. Satisfied that he hadn't heard anything revealing, she smiled at him and said, "You didn't miss anything important. What brings you over here anyway?"

"I'm bored. Wanna go on the rides?"

That sounded like a good idea. Nami needed a break from her heavy thoughts. She stood up to head for the changing room and noticed that Luffy was once again looking away from her nudity. To her amusement, he was also holding out a towel to her that he must have snagged off a hook with his powers.

As she accepted the towel, Nami asked in a teasing voice, "Are you giving me a towel to avoid accidentally owing me another hundred thousand berri or because I'm just too pretty to look at?"

"You're very pretty, Nami," Luffy said quietly. "But I just don't want you getting sick again. I don't like it when you're sick."

Holding the fluffy towel to her chest, Nami silently stared after Luffy as he quickly exited the bath. He was worried about her? Luffy never stopped surprising her. He was extremely dense most of the time, but there were moments when he could be very sweet.

Robin cleared her throat and Nami whirled around to see the older woman smirking at her.

Abruptly wrapping the towel around herself and turning away, Nami warned, "Don't. Say. A. Word."

But the rapid thumping of her heart could not be so easily dealt with.

* * *

Footnotes

(1) Nami flashed her male crewmates and the King of Alabasta in episode 128. She also got changed in front of Franky's men in episode 258 (Water 7 arc). She doesn't seem to be concerned about being leered at in either case.

(2) Episode 43 (end of Arlong arc).

(3) The Enies Lobby arc spans an entire season of episodes from about 264-311, and it is a great and moving storyline.

(4) Robin is referring to the giant Jaguar D. Saul who was her friend as a child. He was the one who told her that she would one day meet nakama who would befriend and protect her.

(5) Robin rescued Luffy from the sand pit Crocodile threw him into in episode 111.


	4. Dreams

**Chapter 4 - Dreams**

_Nami found herself on a flying ship high above the clouds of Skypiea. She watched in terror as her captain fought against the self-proclaimed god Enel. She desperately gripped the straw hat that Luffy had entrusted her with between her fingers, trying to draw comfort and courage from the raggedy but beloved object._

_Luffy could win. No, Luffy _would _win. He always won. Enel's monstrous lightning attacks had no effect against the natural immunity of Luffy's rubber body. But just as Nami's hopes started to rise, Enel somehow _melted _a ball of gold around Luffy's right arm. The boy reeled in shock but before he could react Enel kicked him into the side of the ship. The golden ball followed after him... and rolled off the side of the ship._

_Nami covered her mouth in shock as she watched Luffy struggle to maintain the weight that threatened to pull him over with it. He gave a final shout of outrage and defiance before being pulled off the ship._

_"Luffy!"_

_No! As far as she knew, the rest of her nakama were dead. She couldn't lose Luffy too! Nami ran to the railing in time to see Luffy disappear into the greenery of the treetops. _(1)

_"LUFFY!"_

Nami woke up with tears streaming down her face. She flailed around, not knowing where she was. Her body was covered in sweat and the sound of her heart pounded in her ears. Where was she? Where was Luffy?

Then she remembered that she was on the deck of the Thousand Sunny. She had been reading, and she apparently had fallen asleep. Nami looked around to see if anyone else had seen her embarrassing display, but she had the deck to herself.

She settled back on her beach chair with a sigh. This had not been the first nightmare she'd had this week. She hadn't been able to sleep well for days because of them. She had dreamed about Luffy's fights with Lucci, Enel, and Arlong. She relived the helplessness she felt at watching the strongest man she knew get so close to death.

And the closer the ship got to the New World, and to Fishman Island in particular, the more she dreamed about Thriller Bark.

"Nami-san, may I speak with you?"

Nami jumped at the sight of a grinning skull in front of her eyes. It was amazing how quietly an eight-foot skeleton could sneak up on you.

"It depends. If this involves the color of my panties, my answer will be a boot to the head," Nami warned.

Brook gave his odd laugh then he replied, "Nothing like that, I assure you. May we speak in private? Where we won't be interrupted?"

Nami hesitated a bit. She liked Brook as a person, but she had to admit that his appearance and impossible physiology sometimes bothered her. She knew she was being unfair. Luffy's physical makeup was just as ludicrous, but at least Luffy didn't look like a manifestation of death!

She shook off her unworthy thoughts. She really needed a good night's sleep. "Yeah, let's go to the crow's nest. I don't think anyone's there right now."

Once they climbed up to the nest, they spent a few minutes silently looking over the ocean before Brook said, "I've noticed that you've been a little irritable lately."

Nami smiled a little. Brook could be quite the diplomat when he wasn't being a pervert. She knew that she'd been more impatient and snappish than usual for the past week. It was a wonder that nobody (i.e. Zoro) had called her on it yet.

"I wanted to lend you an ear- But of course I have no ears! Skull joke! Yohohoho!"

Seeing Nami's exasperated look, Brook coughed slightly and continued, "I want to make myself more useful to the crew, and I thought I could be a sounding board for your concerns. Musicians make good listeners."

"You don't have to do that. You do plenty for this crew, and it's great to have a musician onboard," Nami replied.

"Please. I know we don't know each other very well, but I think that might be a benefit here. I want to help you, all of you, however I can."

Nami thought that over. It would be nice to get her concerns off her mind, and she didn't have to worry about looking weak as she would with the others. Brook was right. They didn't have a history. At least not yet. And Brook would probably understand her worries better than anyone else, considering his past.

"I haven't been sleeping well," Nami finally said. "Not since Thriller Bark. But lately, the nightmares have come more frequently."

"You're worried about what we might encounter in the New World," Brook said.

Nami was briefly surprised but then she realized that it didn't take a psychologist to figure out the connection between the crew's most recent brush with death and her nightmares.

"I knew that when I agreed to be the navigator for our journey through the Grand Line that I was agreeing to the strong possibility of dying. But we'd beaten the odds so many times that I guess I was beginning to think that there wasn't any obstacle that we couldn't eventually overcome."

And then they had met Bartholomew Kuma.

Luffy had defeated dictators and madmen who had the power of gods, but Nami had sensed that even if Luffy had been at full strength and not worn out from his fight with the giant Oz he still would have lost to Kuma. Watching Zoro and Sanji's strongest attacks fail against the Shichibukai had only cemented that impression.

"The only reason any of us left Thriller Bark that day was because Kuma let us go," Nami said softly. "I doubt that the next demigod we meet will be so merciful."

What kind of monsters waited in the New World? Could Luffy actually become Pirate King? And would she, one of the physically weakest members of the crew, survive to see it?

"I too have similar concerns," Brook said. "The Grand Line is a dangerous place, but everything I've heard about the New World indicates that it is even worse. I would hate to lose the first nakama I've had in fifty years."

"How do you deal with it?" Nami asked. "You've already seen one crew die. How can you sail with us so happily knowing..."

Brook politely turned his head away when Nami found herself tearing up again. She angrily wiped at her tears with the back of her hand. She said, "You'd think I'd be used to fearing death by now."

"I don't think that's a fear one ever truly gets used to," Brook replied. "And I doubt that it's your own death that you fear so much."

Nami watched the skeleton somehow take on a melancholy air.

"I never expected to die when I did. I suppose nobody ever does. I wasn't afraid of dying because I knew that I would come back. But I knew... I knew that my friends would not. I have watched my comrades die once. To do so again would destroy me."

Brook turned to face Nami. His hollow eye sockets bore into her. He said, "You ask how I can stand here now. I ask myself that sometimes as well. This is the answer I have found. The people who have the best chances of surviving this sea are the ones who don't surrender to fear. Remember, Nami-san, that we are pirates. And pirates are supposed to be reckless!

"Live in the present moment. Don't waste your life fearing the possible consequences. Believe in your nakama and in yourself. And if you ever find yourself at death's door, be sure that you can face it without regrets."

"Brook..."

It was easy to forget that this pirate had been alive before any of the other Straw Hats had been born. For all of his childish and odd ways, Brook was someone who could be truly wise.

"Could you play me a song? Something uplifting?"

Brook pulled out his violin and put the end under his chin. He said, "I would love to."

* * *

Nami woke up crying again.

She fumbled for the light while she tried to compose herself. There was both good and bad in having her own cabin. The good was that nobody had to see or be bothered by her constantly waking up in a fit of panic. The bad was that there was no one around to tell her everything would be okay.

The dream was already fading from her mind. What little she did remember didn't make sense. Something about an island, a gigantic flower, and Luffy's limbs being pinned to a rock by arrows (2). The scene felt oddly familiar but also not. But what stood out in her memory in stark clarity was the look of desolation on Luffy's face.

Mere physical pain wouldn't have caused such an expression. She could only imagine one thing that could caused Luffy such utter despair, and that thought made her shudder.

She needed some air to clear her head. The clock told her it was only a little after one in the morning, so she moved quietly. Heading toward the deck of the ship, she wondered what was going on with her. She really thought her talk with Brook would stop the dreams. She'd never been the type of person to be overly obsessed with death. But all her other dreams had been about her thinking Luffy had died. The last one had been slightly different...

What was Luffy doing up so late? Nami saw her captain lying on the grassy deck near her mikan trees. From the lack of crumbs and food stains, she didn't think he was up for his usual midnight snack. He appeared to just be staring up at the stars in thought.

She watched him for awhile from the doorway just to confirm that he was fine. When her dream-induced anxiety had ebbed, she turned to go back to bed when she heard Luffy speak.

"You've been crying."

His words were tinged with concern. Nami felt oddly comforted by that. She quickly turned her face away. "It's nothing. Just a bad dream."

"Come here."

She saw Luffy sit up and pat the spot next to him. After a moment's hesitation, she sat down on the grass and pulled her knees up against her chest.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Not really," Nami said. Casting her mind for a change of subject, she said, "I talked to Brook today. He told me not to worry about things too much. That I should live in the moment and without regrets."

"Sounds like good advice."

"I thought you would see it that way. You never seem worried about anything... Except maybe where your next meal is coming from."

Luffy shrugged. "What's the point of worrying? What happens happens."

"So you've never wondered what might happen to us in the New World? About whether we're strong enough? What if it turns out there is no One Piece?"

"It wouldn't be much of an adventure if we knew how it ended."

Nami didn't know why but the sight of Luffy's carefree, goofy grin made her angry. She said, "It must be so easy to be you. Never worrying about the future. Knowing that if anyone or anything gets in your way you can just beat it up. Don't you realize how lucky we've been, Luffy?"

Luffy stared at her with widened eyes. "Nami..."

"Luck runs out. We won't always win. Not all of us are as invincible as you are. You know that! One day, one of us will never come back. Will you see that as just another part of our _adventures_?"

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Nami regretted them.

"You know I wouldn't," an ashen-faced Luffy said.

"I do. I know how much you care. I'm sorry," Nami said, grabbing the boy by the arm. And she did know. She had seen his pain when Usopp had left the crew, and when he thought Robin had betrayed them all. She remembered the haunted expression on Luffy's face from her dream.

"I will be strong enough to protect you all," Luffy said resolutely.

Nami nodded, but he must have seen the doubt in her eyes because he suddenly leaned forward and grabbed her by the arms. He said, "I will be strong enough. Because that's the captain's job. Because a captain is nothing without his nakama."

Not for the first time, Nami was blown away by the determination in his eyes. The determination that had gotten them across the most dangerous sea in the world and had saved their lives and the lives of countless people numerous times. And looking into his eyes, at that moment, she believed if anyone could bring all of them to Raftel alive it would be the boy in front of her.

She was once again reminded that Luffy could be eerily wise and mature when it mattered. To Luffy, having One Piece or being Pirate King would be meaningless if he didn't also have his nakama. And it struck her that being captain had to be an incredibly lonely job. That even if he didn't show it, he bore the strain that came from being responsible for his crew's lives.

Nami had the sudden urge to hug Luffy, and so she did. He let out a surprised squawk, but he didn't protest. As she sat there with her arms wrapped around Luffy, she thought about how she could lose him one day. If that was the case, then how could she justify wasting the time they had together lying to herself?

Every day, Luffy risked everything for everyone's dreams. How could she face him if she couldn't face her own fears directly? So she would admit this to herself now. She wanted to start a relationship with Luffy. Maybe it was a stupid idea. Maybe it wouldn't work out. Maybe Luffy didn't feel the same way at all. But if she had learned anything from being a Straw Hat, it was that it was never stupid to try to achieve one's goals.

It would be one of the biggest gambles of her life. But it wouldn't be the first. After all, risk-taking was what pirates did. And she'd been taking risks long before she ever became a pirate.

* * *

Footnotes:

(1) Episode 184 (Skypiea Arc).

(2) Movie 6: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island


	5. Surprises

**Chapter 5 - Surprises**

It has been several days since Nami had decided that she wanted to tell Luffy how she felt about him. The problem was that she had no idea how to go about doing it! Of course there was the obvious, direct method (and direct methods were usually best when dealing with a blockhead like Luffy), but Nami wanted to use that as a last resort. It would be better to feel him out on what he thought of her first.

But she had no idea how to do that either.

Her life before the Straw Hats as a burglar and treasure seeker hadn't exactly given her an education on romance and confessions. She hadn't had the time for crushes and love letters and whatever hormonal nonsense that adolescents were supposed to engage in.

Oh, she knew how to flirt and how to wrap men around her finger with a look. Her cons and treasure-snatching schemes had gone so much more smoothly once she had grown breasts. But being groped by drunk, disgusting pirate captains while she pick-pocketed them for the keys to their safes was _not _romantic experience.

Those type of tactics were unlikely to work on Luffy. She'd watched enough women (and a few men) try to get into the good graces (and pants) of the famous Monkey D. Luffy to realize that trying to subtly come on to Luffy was like trying to get Chopper to stop believing Usopp's lies. It was futile, headache-inducing, and the instigator would end up wanting to bash her head into the wall.

And she didn't want to do that anyway. The acts and disguises she donned in the past weren't _her._ She wasn't some femme fatale. She was Nami, the girl who loved money and mikans, navigator for the Straw Hats, and nakama to the best and most bizarre group of pirates in the world.

That was who she wanted Luffy to see.

Perhaps she should ask one of her friends for advice. She immediately ruled out Chopper (for obvious reasons) and Sanji (for that would just be cruel). Brook would be all too willing to help her, but she didn't want to force him to dredge up memories of lost loves who were probably long dead. She couldn't imagine Zoro ever being in love with anybody. Even if he had been, she couldn't imagine him actually _telling_ them how he felt (which would make him quite the hypocrite considering his constantly needling her about Luffy).

That left Robin, Franky, and Usopp. Robin seemed too worldly a woman to not have had a relationship at some point in her life, but she was also the one most likely to advise her to be straightforwardly honest with Luffy, which was not what Nami wanted to hear at the moment.

Franky probably had dozens of ways of wooing women. But they probably all involved over-the-top dramatics that Nami wouldn't be comfortable using. She had the brief image of her playing the guitar while wearing one of Franky's shirts over her swimsuit and trying to serenade Luffy with a nauseating love song.

Okay, Franky was definitely out. That left Usopp, someone who had spent years going after the girl of his dreams. He could be a goofball, but he probably also had the most relevant experience to offer.

Nami found Usopp in his room tinkering with his Kabuto.

"Yo, Nami! Is it time for lunch already?"

Nami sat down on a stool near the door. She said, "Not yet. I just wanted to ask you if you've heard from Kaya lately."

Sending letters across the Grand Line was extremely unreliable. It was a miracle that Nami was able to get the newspaper delivered to her as regularly as she did. But it was even more difficult to find mail birds who were willing to deliver letters to a location as distant as Usopp's home village.

Usopp shook his head. "Not since the last letter a month ago. She's still doing well in her medical studies. She wanted to know if I was hurt in the Enies Lobby incident. She apparently heard about it from the papers."

"Sounds like she's worried about you," Nami said.

She watched a wide grin spread over Usopp's face. He didn't even seem aware of it. He started throwing the Dial he was holding from hand to hand with a blissful look on his face.

"Well, why wouldn't she be? We're old friends after all. We go back quite a ways and all that. Why, I remember when we first met. I had just rescued her from the ravenous, scaly, fifty-headed sea monster- "

Usopp was starting to babble, so Nami decided to get straight to the point. She asked, "How did you tell Kaya that you loved her?"

"Wha- wha- What?!"

Usopp dropped the Dial he was holding.

A few harrowing, panic-filled minutes later, two heads popped up from behind Usopp's overturned desk.

"Flame Dial?"

"Flame Dial."

Nami got to her feet and brushed the ash off her skirt. "Jeez. What are you getting so worked up for?"

Usopp, who had been checking his weapon for damage, swiftly turned to her and pointed a shaky finger in her direction. He said, "Me? You're the one asking strange questions here! I'll have you know that Kaya is just a very good childhood fr-friend of mine and that I have never once thought-"

"You do know that you're a horrible liar, right?"

Usopp's shoulders sagged. He asked, "That obvious?"

"_Super_ obvious."

Usopp started pacing the room. "What makes you think I told Kaya anything?"

Nami gave him a look of dismay. "You mean you just set sail without telling her how you felt?"

"Of course I did! I couldn't very well say 'Hey, Kaya, I just wanted to say that I love you and I hope you don't mind waiting for me until I return at some unknown point in the future or you receive the news of my untimely demise'!"

"But before that-"

Usopp collapsed on his bed. "The moment never felt right. And I guess... I wanted to do something to impress her first. Show her I wasn't just some second-rate storyteller."

"I think saving her village would have done that," Nami said.

"Maybe I'm just a coward then!" Usopp snapped. He immediately looked contrite at his outburst. After a deep breath, he said, "I should have told her a long time ago. I kept putting it off because I wasn't sure... Why would a rich, beautiful girl like Kaya want _me_?"

Nami was astonished. "But it's obvious that she's heads over heels for you!"

Usopp gave her a skeptical look. "Is it? Is it really? Kaya's kind to everyone. That's what I love about her. And even if you're right... she's not going to wait forever. I wouldn't want her to."

"So you're never going to tell her?"

"When did I say that? That's the first thing I'm doing when I get home. In fact, that's the first thing I'm going to do when I see her!"

"Even if she has already found somebody else?" Nami asked softly.

Usopp gave her a smile, one filled with a little pain but mostly wry amusement. He said, "Nami, you don't tell a person you love them because you want something from them. You tell them so they know how wonderful you think they are. If on some remote chance, Kaya will still have me then I'll consider myself lucky. But even if she doesn't, that doesn't change what I have to do. What I _want_ to do."

Nami found herself sitting on the stool again. She didn't feel like standing at the moment. She stared at Usopp for a moment then she laughed.

"Hey! I'm baring my soul here! What's so funny?" Usopp asked with clear indignation in his voice.

"No, nothing like that! It's just... you can be so much braver than me sometimes," Nami said.

"You're just realizing this now?" Usopp asked. Then he said, "What is this about anyway?"

"Oh, I was just reading a romance novel and I guess I'm in a girly mood today," Nami said. She felt bad about making Usopp think of sad things but not _that _bad.

"Don't lie to a liar," Usopp said, shaking his head. Then he shrugged. "But suit yourself. I suppose it's none of my business."

Nami took this as her cue to leave, but just about when she was about to step through the doorway, she paused. Not looking at Usopp, she said, "I think you should give yourself more credit. I think Kaya would wait for you."

"Why would you say that?"

The orange-haired navigator turned her head and tossed back a teasing grin. "Because you're the great Captain Usopp! How can anyone else possibly compare?"

* * *

Nami understood Usopp's point. Life was too short and unpredictable to waste playing games. She wasn't fully convinced that this meant she should just throw herself out there emotionally, but before she could come to a decision one way or another, the crew had run into a mermaid and a talking starfish.

After that, the crew had to rescue one of Nami's former captors, Hachi, from the pirate Duval. Before Nami knew it, the ship was headed toward the Sabaody Archipelago. In all the excitement and having to wrestle with the emotions that came from having one of Arlong's former crewmates aboard, Nami hadn't given Usopp's words another thought.

Then came the days of boredom.

Life was like that out at sea. It was mostly long periods of tediousness traveling from one place to another punctuated by moments of mind-numbing terror. Weeks could pass at sea with nothing to do. Most of the crew had routines they engaged in from polishing swords to reading books. For example, Brook could spend hours just staring into the sun. Freaky but understandable.

But part of each day had to be devoted to entertaining Luffy. This kept him from trying to devour their entire food stock. Normally, only the boys would play with Luffy, but Nami had caught up with her work and she felt like she needed to move around. Even Robin had agreed to participate in the impromptu Hide and Seek game that Luffy and Usopp had organized.

Nami found herself sneaking around below decks trying to find a place to hide. She wondered if making Chopper It had been a good idea. With his sense of smell this could end up being a very short game! Why was she doing this again?

Because now that she was getting used to having Camie, Pappagu, and Hachi around she couldn't stop thinking about her dilemma with Luffy. Nami was annoyed at herself. She had never been an indecisive person before! What happened to the crazy girl who spent almost a decade risking life and limb to gather a hundred million berri?

With a great sigh, Nami opened the door to the ship's hold and walked in. She didn't really feel like playing anymore, but it wasn't like there was anything else to do.

"Yo, Nami!"

Nami blinked her eyes in surprise. Luffy smiled widely at her from the barrel he was sitting on. She had the brief thought of making a run for it, but then chided herself for being silly. Instead she sat down on the barrel across from Luffy. There was plenty of room in the hold, but Nami felt very aware of how close to Luffy she was.

Feeling a little awkward, Nami asked, "Do you think Chopper has found the others yet?"

Luffy scrunched up his face in thought. "I bet Zoro's caught already. He sucks at these games."

"The snoring would probably make him easy to find," Nami agreed. The swordsman almost always ended up taking a nap whenever they played these games. He had once fallen asleep during a game of Darumasan ga Koronda! The impressive thing was that he hadn't even fallen over!

"Robin's smart. Franky knows this ship better than anybody..." Luffy was listing off the crew members on his fingers. "Sanji's-"

"Probably hiding wherever Camie is," Nami finished, causing Luffy to give her one of his customary wide grins.

"Sanji sure does love women," Luffy said.

"Hmm, how about you, Luffy? Do you like women?" Nami asked with a mischievous grin.

"Of course I do!"

It was rather fun to make Luffy's eyes bug out like that. Nami knew perfectly well that Luffy liked women, but it was almost impossible to resist teasing Luffy. It was just so easy!

Even though her intention was simply to needle Luffy a little, she found herself asking, "What kind of girl do you like?"

Nami half-expected Luffy to try to avoid the question, but he looked like he was giving it serious thought. He finally said, "She'd have to be a pirate."

Nami rolled her eyes. "Of course. Anything else?"

"She'd have to be fun and pretty and smart and and caring and she'd have to go on adventures with me and she has to be tough-"

Nami listened carefully to Luffy's laundry list describing his perfect woman. Surprisingly, there was nothing outrageous like 'can bench press a thousand tons' or 'has a Devil's Fruit ability.' In fact, this hypothetical girl sounded rather normal. Well, as normal as a beautiful genius female pirate who could put up with Luffy could be.

"I don't suppose you like bossy and greedy girls," Nami said, deciding to test the waters.

"Sure I do!" Luffy said cheerfully. "I like _you_!"

Nami's heart jumped until she realized that Luffy meant his statement innocently. Then she wondered if she should be insulted. It was one thing for her to call herself these things. It was another for Luffy to agree with them!

She suddenly noticed that Luffy had kept his hands behind him the whole time they were talking, and he appeared to be fiddling with something.

"Luffy, what are you doing?"

Luffy froze. "What do you mean?"

"You're hiding something behind your back."

"No, I'm not!"

Nami had originally made her inquiry out of idle curiosity, but Luffy's sudden fidgeting and inability to meet her eyes made her sit up straighter. She asked, "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing!"

"Tell me!"

"Never!" Luffy cried. He jumped to his feet and looked like he was going to make a run for it. On a sudden impulse, Nami lunged and tackled the boy to the ground.

One short scuffle and cloud of dust later, Nami lofted the box she snatched from Luffy's fingers triumphantly above her head. "Aha!"

"Oof... you're heavy, Nami..."

Nami was about to berate Luffy for his insensitive remarks when she noticed that she was sitting on Luffy's stomach with her legs around his waist. Turning red, she scrambled off her captain and put ten feet between them.

Keeping an eye on Luffy's prone form, Nami looked down at the wooden box in her hands. It wouldn't surprise her if all it contained was some food Luffy had stolen from the kitchen or something equally stupid. She opened it and saw the last thing she ever expected.

"Gold? Luffy, why do you have a box of gold coins?" Nami asked with confusion and a little hurt in her voice. Luffy was not the type to hoard treasure, but all the gold the crew had was supposed to be in the ship's safe.

Luffy sat up and crossed his arms with a sullen look on his face. Staring at the ground, he muttered, "S'going be... bfthdi prisunt..."

"What?"

Luffy looked up and said, "It was going to be your birthday present."

"Luffy..."

Nami couldn't help but feel touched. It was a simple-minded gift but one so utterly typical of Luffy. It was also one that _nobody _could be unhappy with! Because it was _gold_! And it was _hers_! Luffy could be _so_ thoughtful! She could hear the sound of cash registers going off in her mind...

"Uh, Nami..."

Nami realized she was rubbing the box against her face and giggling wildly in delight. She slowly put the box down and deliberately cleared her throat. "Sorry. Reflex."

Deciding to pretend that nothing had happened, Nami opened the box again. She picked up one of the gold coins to take a closer look at it.

Her face went blank.

"Luffy?"

If Luffy noticed that Nami's voice had gone completely flat, he didn't show it. He said, "Yeah?"

"These are chocolate gold coins."

"Yup!"

Nami raised her head and one could almost see the flames dancing in her eyes. "And you've eaten half of them!"

Luffy scratched the back of his head in obvious embarrassment. 'Heh, heh. About that... Urg!"

Whatever else Luffy was about to say was cut off by the wooden box buried in his face.

"Idiot!"

Nami was huffing from the exertion of throwing the heavy box across the room. But the anger she felt was rapidly dissipating. Watching Luffy try to pull the box out of his currently deformed face, Nami couldn't help but laugh.

She laughed so hard and for so long that tears began to fall from her eyes.

Luffy, who was perfectly fine now, looked concerned. He asked, "Nami, are you okay?"

"I don't know! Something must be wrong with me. You're so aggravating and I never know what you're going to do next so you'll probably give me a heart attack before I'm 20 because you're such an idiot but..."

Nami wiped the tears from her eyes and looked directly at Luffy, feeling surprisingly calm.

"But..."

_You're an idiot who believed in a thief._

"...even so..."

_You've already given me more than I can ever repay and that's why..._

"I love you."


	6. Answers

**Chapter 6 - Answers**

_"I love you." _

The words had just popped out of her mouth. She had never intended to reveal her feelings in the middle of a game of Hide and Seek! But seeing Luffy act so classically _Luffy _had loosened her tongue. She had never known anyone who could be so endearing yet infuriating and utterly clueless all at the same time.

Nami didn't regret her words, but there was a small part of her that wondered if it was too late to take them back or to claim she was kidding. But she knew that wouldn't work. Because while Luffy may have been the densest man alive, he was not a fool. He could be terrifyingly intuitive when it came to figuring out how others were feeling.

And even if he wasn't, she still wouldn't take those words back because while she was filled with an overwhelming anxiety over how Luffy would respond to her declaration of love, she also felt a strong sense of relief from unburdening such a heavy secret. She could tell that her words had a strong impact on Luffy. She could easily make out the confusion and surprise on his face. These were emotions she'd seen him wear at least a hundred times before and could recognize in a glance. But the uncertainty in his eyes was new and harder to discern. She wanted to know what it meant.

So even though she felt like every cell in her body was yelling at her to flee and hide somewhere, anywhere else she forced herself to remain sitting and staring into Luffy's eyes. In doing so, she felt a sudden urge to kiss him. It was as if admitting that she was attracted to Luffy had unleashed the floodgates on her hormones.

But even when she had been lying to herself about her feelings for Luffy, she had often wondered what it would feel like to kiss a man made of rubber. Would it be like kissing a balloon? Then she had started wondering about how he could eat or sweat or do anything at all. So she had asked Chopper, who told her that Luffy's Devil Fruit hadn't turned him into a living rubber doll. It had only given all the cells in his body the _elasticity _of rubber. His skin was still flesh and his organs were the same as they always were except they could now be manipulated in ways that would kill a normal person.

She had touched his skin before when she had to patch him up or smack him over the head, and it didn't feel weird at all. But that didn't prove anything. It was possible that she would discover some subtle difference in texture if she _tasted _him...

Nami found herself leaning in toward him. She immediately leaned back. Now was not the time for that! She started to fidget. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. She was growing increasingly concerned at his lack of response. She hadn't wanted to put Luffy on the spot like this. Having him say that he loved her too would have been too much to expect, but it was rare for Luffy to be at a complete loss for words. Was he trying to think of a way to let her down gently?

_Say something!_

"Nami... I..."

Nami leaned in again to hear his faint words.

"I..."

"FOUND YOU!"

The door to the ship's hold burst open and Doctor Chopper bounded into the room with an ear-splitting grin.

"Chopper!" Luffy yelled. He immediately turned away from Nami to greet the reindeer with a ferocious grin. "Who's It? Am I It?"

"You're the last two to be found so you're safe. Anyway, Sanji says it's time for lunch-"

Before Chopper could finish his sentence, Luffy had already vanished out the door with the echoing cry of "FOOD!" trailing behind him.

Nami didn't know whether to be angry or relieved at this development.

* * *

"Do you regret telling him?" Robin asked as she watched Nami pace around her bedroom.

"Yes, no, I don't know," Nami replied as she threw herself onto her bed. "This wasn't what I expected."

"What did you expect?"

"I expected him to not understand what the hell I was talking about. Or to give me the 'let's be friends' speech. Or to start kissing me. What I _did not_ expect was for Luffy to pretend like nothing had happened! No, it's worse than that."

Nami grabbed her pillow and hugged it to her chest. She said miserably, "He's avoiding me. And on a ship this big, that's not a hard thing to do."

The last few days since she confessed to Luffy had been very aggravating. She hadn't expected a specific answer from him, just an answer of some kind. She had expected to resolve the situation one way or another by now, and instead, she had been left hanging in suspense. He always found a reason to leave the room when she entered. Even at mealtimes when they were all together, he would barely look at her.

"I know that Usopp said that the important thing was just to tell Luffy how I felt about him, but... I'm human. There's nothing wrong with wanting to know how he feels about me, right?"

"No, there's nothing wrong with that," Robin replied. "But if I had to guess then I'd say that even Luffy doesn't know how he feels."

"Huh?"

"I think that you forget that the captain doesn't have any more experience in matters of the heart than you do, probably even less. From what I understand, Luffy has spent most of his life training to go out to sea. It's not surprising then that he doesn't know how to react when faced with a situation that he can't resolve with his fists."

"What should I do then?" Nami asked. "Should I talk to him or wait for him to talk to me?"

"Either option has merit," Robin replied. "But you have to determine whether you're really concerned about giving Luffy the time and space to think or if you're just afraid of what he might say if you confronted him."

Nami swallowed her initial reaction to protest that she wasn't afraid of anything except life-threatening dangers and the possibility of someone stealing her money. Because Robin was right. She was afraid to push Luffy on how he felt about her. She had stuck herself out on an emotional limb once already, and she didn't want to be slapped down again.

But that hesitation wasn't like her. She didn't get to be known as Cat Burglar Nami by cowering in her room. If Luffy needed time to examine his feelings then he could have the courtesy to tell her that himself!

Filled with righteous indignation, Nami was about to march out to track down her cowardly captain when she saw Robin raise her hand. The older woman said, "If you're looking for Luffy, then he's talking to Zoro in the workout room."

"How do you-"

Robin tapped her ear.

Nami sometimes wishes that she had a Devil's Fruit ability. There had been many times in her life that she could have used one. Then something occurred to her. She asked, "Uh, Robin, you don't make a habit of leaving your ears around the ship, do you?"

"Have a nice chat with Luffy, Nami."

"You didn't answer the question!"

Robin just smiled serenely.

Nami rolled her eyes and left the room. As she got closer to the workout room she started hearing voices coming from it. The door was slightly ajar and just as she was about to push it open to get inside she heard Luffy's voice.

"Zoro! Tell me what I should do about Nami!"

"I don't know and I don't care!"

Nami hesitated for a moment before she knelt down and positioned herself so she could peer into the room without being seen. Yes, it was hypocritical to be eavesdropping after she'd just complained to Robin about the same thing, but a decade's worth of thieving hadn't exactly left her with a strong moral fiber.

She saw Luffy jumping around the room like a hyperactive monkey yelling Zoro's name while the swordsman was obviously trying to ignore him as he lifted his weights. But ignoring Luffy when he wanted attention was impossible.

"Zoro! Zoro! Zoro! Zoro!"

Zoro groaned. "Fine! What do you want?"

"What does it feel like to be in love?"

"How the hell should I know?" Zoro snapped. "Talk to Usopp or that damned love cook!"

"I don't want to talk to them. I want to talk to you," Luffy stated matter-of-factly.

"About what?"

Luffy cocked his head and then he said bluntly, "Who's Kuina?"

The weights fell to the floor with a clatter. Zoro whipped his head around and leveled a massive glare at Luffy. "None of your goddamned business! Where did you hear that name?"

Luffy was unfazed by Zoro's attempt to burn him with his eyes. He said, "I heard it back on the _Going Merry. _Sometimes, when I was up to get a midnight snack, I heard you mumble her name in your sleep. You always sounded... sad. Who was she?"

Zoro gritted his teeth and he looked like he was about to take a swing at Luffy, but he must have seen something in the captain's resolute face because he just gave a heavy grunt and sat down on the weight bench.

"Kuina was the daughter of the sensei I trained under as a kid. Before Mihawk, she was the one person who I couldn't beat. I fought her more than 2000 times and I lost every single match. That was how skilled she was.

"Everybody assumed that I wanted to defeat her because I couldn't stand losing to a girl. That wasn't why. I was drawn to her because of her strength and her passion. She was skilled because she worked harder than anyone else to get to where she was. She didn't let anyone or anything stop her from doing what she loved. We promised each other that one of us would become the greatest swordsman in the world."

Zoro fell silent for a long moment then he continued, "She died shortly after that, but, the way I see it, that promise still stands."

"Did you love her?" Luffy asked.

"What does a kid know about love?" Zoro said with a snort. "But I think that I could have loved her if I'd had more time. I was always thinking about her. I wanted us to travel the same path together. Look, all I know is that I wouldn't be half the swordsman I am now without her. She's the reason..."

Zoro's voice broke off before he repeated, "She's the reason."

Nami put a hand over her mouth to stop the gasp threatening to escape from it. She had never imagined that Zoro of all people could actually have a meaningful relationship with a female. She thought about Zoro's brutal training regimens and the monstrous swordsmen he had fought and defeated. If this was how far he went for someone who he _claimed_ not to love...

"Thank you, Zoro," Luffy said.

"For what? I don't see how anything I've said could have helped you."

"It's helped a lot," Luffy said solemnly. "I think I understand now."

"Then you know what you're going to do?"

"I know what I _want _to do, but... I promised Genzo that I wouldn't make Nami cry."

Nami felt a chill go down her spine. Why would Luffy be worried about making her cry unless he was going to reject her?

"Don't be saying misleading things like that. It makes women feel insecure... right, Nami?"

Nami's first impulse was to make a run for it, but she knew that was a stupid idea. So she went for the next best option. Acting like she just happened to walk by a moment ago.

"Hey, guys! What's going on?"

Zoro crossed his arms and smirked at her. He said slowly, "I was just finishing up. Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

Nami gave him an incredulous look, and Zoro's smirk grew wider. He said, "I guess you're here to talk to Luffy. Is this a private conversation? Should I stay or should I just-"

"Oh, just get out!" Nami said, feeling irritable but also relieved that Zoro didn't seem upset with her for eavesdropping. Now that she thought about it, he had to have known she was there the whole time. She turned to ask him about it, but he had already disappeared.

Feeling a little nervous, she turned to Luffy. She didn't know what to say. She wished she had given this course of action more thought before she'd stormed out of her room. She had been depending on her anger to carry her through, but her irritation had vanished in the face of Zoro's words, so now she was just awkwardly standing around hoping for Luffy to say something first.

But that seemed unlikely to happen as she noticed that Luffy wouldn't even meet her eyes. That wasn't like him. Luffy had always been decisive and bold. Those traits tended to get all of them into major heaps of trouble, but she couldn't imagine him any other way. She didn't like seeing him act so hesitant.

Nami sighed. Then she said, "Luffy, if things are going to be weird between us because of what I said then I'd prefer if we just pretended that I hadn't said-"

Luffy was shaking his head.

"Then what is it?" Nami asked, throwing her hands up in exasperation. Her fuse already short enough to ignite, Nami was prepared to jump down Luffy's throat if he continued to drive her crazy like this. She said, "I'm tired of the silent treatment! Just tell me what's bothering you!"

"I don't know where to start," Luffy said.

"Start with your promise to Genzo," Nami said abruptly.

If Luffy was surprised that she knew about that promise, he didn't show it. He just nodded and said, "It was before we left your island. The old man and I were in front of your mom's grave when he asked me not to take your smile away."

"That's sweet, Luffy, but I've bawled my eyes out at least a dozen times already on this journey."

"But not because of me. Not because I made you sad."

Nami was too thrown by this statement to respond.

Uncharacteristically, Luffy stumbled over his next words and they came out of his mouth in a rush. "I don't know how to act around you, Nami. I don't know anything about this love stuff. I don't know how to make you happy. I don't want to make you so mad that you'll leave."

They had arrived at the crux of the matter. Nami had often compared Luffy to a little boy, but she had never seen him wear such a bashful and shamed expression before. It had never occurred to her that Luffy might share the same concerns and insecurities she did. Perhaps it should have. Neither of them had role models for proper adult relationships. Luffy had never mentioned his mother and all she knew about his father was that he had abandoned his son as a child to become a revolutionary.

It felt extremely odd realizing that even someone like Luffy had things about himself that he lacked confidence in, but it was also strangely reassuring. She felt the knots in her shoulders loosen a bit. His naked honesty had given her the strength she needed.

Nami said, "Luffy, I don't think you get it. Yes, you've made me angry. You've driven me half-insane and caused me to be scared out of my wits more than once. But...you have also made me happy. You've made me laugh.

"And... you've made me sad before. You just didn't know it. But I'm still here. I'm not going to shatter if you hurt my feelings. And I'm not going to leave the ship because of something like that. I'd like to think that you know me better than that."

"Nami..."

She could see him wavering, but the uncertainty in his eyes was still there. She drew in closer to him and said in a low voice, "I've never seen you run away from anything before. So I'm going to make this real simple for you, Luffy. Do you like me? Yes or no?"

"Ye-"

Nami kissed him.

And Chopper was right. His lips didn't taste rubbery at all.

When she pulled away, she saw that Luffy was wearing a goofy grin. She smiled then said, "The rest we can figure out together later."

To her surprise, Luffy suddenly leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Nami asked, feeling her cheeks heat up.

"Don't boyfriends do this to their girlfriends?" Luffy asked. "I've seen this."

"My, aren't you confident all of a sudden? Suddenly I'm your girlfriend? You still haven't even told me how you feel about me," Nami teased.

Luffy frowned. "I'm not good with words."

"Then show me."

Nami closed her eyes, hoping that he'd get the message that she wanted him to kiss her this time. There was a long pause, but then she felt him shift his body. But instead of a pair of lips, she felt an object press down lightly on her head. She opened her eyes out of surprise and saw the straw brim.

It was Luffy's hat.

Nami's mind flashed to the times when Luffy had allowed her to wear his precious treasure. The first time was when she had collapsed out of despair because she thought Arlong had won. The second time was when she was panicking at the thought of fighting the lightning god Enel. Both times he had her wear his hat before he went into battle. Both times the feel of dry straw between her fingers had been enough to stop her tears.

In his own way, he had always shown her how much he cared.

"Thank you, Luffy," Nami said quietly. She decided that this was as good a time as any to leave. Because she was _not _going to break down in tears like some mushy girl just because she had received an incredibly romantic gesture.

_Oh, I think we're way past the point of worrying about looking mushy, miss 'I'm going to make this real simple for you.'_

_Shut up, you, _Nami told her inner voice.

"I guess I'll see you at dinner then!" Nami said, trying to sound casual as she started walking toward the door.

"Uh, Nami, you still have my hat," Luffy pointed out.

Nami grinned. "It's actually _my_ hat now. Don't you know that gifts are irrevocable?"

"Wait, what? Nami!"

Nami playfully stuck her tongue out at him and ran off laughing. She figured that she could make it halfway down the hall before Luffy could gather enough of his wits to start pursuing her. And once he caught her, she'd give the hat back. For a price. One she was sure that they'd both be happy with.


End file.
